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S. Australia

 

 

Adelaide B&B On our way to the 2002 Total Eclipse we stopped in Adelaide Hills region for a few days to explore the wines and vineyards of that region.   A stop at a local tourist office led us to the lucky discovery of the Steve and Many Adcock's Adelaide Hills Country Cottages,  [***] [$$], which turned out to be one of the best B&Bs we have experienced anywhere.

 

There are five "Mediterranean style villa" units, each isolated in its own private and scenic part of a large estate.  Some units are large enough for family/groups.  Our favorite is "The Nest" which has a spa tub with a picture window looking out on the farm (see photo).  The breakfast goodies are setup and left at your cottage.  You prepare on your own.

 

Activities in the area include: picnics (on the estate), walking on country roads adjacent to the estate, and wineries touring & tasting.  Some wineries are within 10 minutes drive. Many more can be reached in 30 minutes to an hour.   Adelaide  is about 30 minutes by Highway 1. 

 

 

Above: Ron roughing it in The Nest at the Adelaide Hills Country Cottages.  Nearby Vineyard

 

 

     
 

Remlap Wool Jacket You can purchase a nice lambs wool jacket at Remlap Manufacturing in tiny Palmer (not on the map, so ask locals for directions).  The drive from the Adelaide Hills towards Palmer also takes you in the direction of another lovely wine growing valley.

 

Uraidla Hotel Almost every "hotel" we encountered had decent food.  One that we especially recommend:  The Uraidla Hotel [** $$], on Greenhill Road, Uraidla, in the Adelaide Hills.   Roger and Bruna Zeidan had just taken over the business a few months before we visited in 2002 - and had already won an American Express Restaurant Award.   Cozy, friendly, and good food.

 

There are "Hotels" everywhere The "Hotel" you find in every small town in South Australia is actually the town pub, restaurant, & casinos.  (In some cases it's also the local liquor shop.)  Very few are actual hotels.  They are good places for drink, cheap and substantial meals, and people watching.  Schnitzel is served in virtually all establishments.  There is chicken, pork, beef, and veal schnitzels, depending on the place and day of the week.  It seems that schnitzels is even more popular in S. Australia than Vienna!  The drinking/dining areas in the "Hotels"  are usually divided into two or three distinct, walled off areas.  The "front room" is for the rough and tough men-folk drinkers (now women also mingle in this crowd).  The "back room" is family dining.

 

Flinders Ranges National Park  - a wonderful place for 3 or 4 day hikes and some exposure to Aboriginal mythical history and cave art.   The Wilpena Pound Resort [**] has terrific, modern  accommodations [**, $$].  We recommend the Heysen cabins.  The chow at the resort bar-bistro is also pretty good and very friendly and reasonably priced [$].  For joggers, here is the most memorable run:  leave the Wilpena resort area by way of Pound Gap;  after a couple of kilometers, a bit past the Old Homestead, take the right branch onto the Heysen trail [**] cutting through the Pound valley floor;  continue as far as you care before turning around.  Troops of kangaroos will join you in this portion of the run.   For a very long hike through a great variety of terrain: start at Wilpena Chalet / Park headquarters, take the Pound Gap path to the Old Homestead.  A bit past the Homestead turn right and NW on to the trail toward Cooinda Camp, than on to Tanderra Saddle.  (But we made the mistake of taking a side trip to Malloga Falls, which was not very interesting, and made the hike way way too long.)  At Tanderaa Saddle the trail takes a plunge down a cliff before continuing on the flats back to park headquarters.  The cliff is very difficult and by the time we reached bottom we could think of nothing but a cold beer at the bar - bistro back at the camp.  Note: a good map and GPS are strongly advised for hiking in this area.   At one point on this hike we lost the trail.  Without GPS we may not have found our way back...  and would not be writing this stuff!

 

After Flinders Ranges we ended up in Lyndhurst, S. Australia The town is literally at the end of the road, about 500 km north of Adelaide.  The paved road ends here and turns into the Outback track.  No fuel for the next 500 km (see photo above).  Lyndhurst will probably not be your primary travel destination, but if you happen to pass through ask the locals about the 2002 Total Eclipse of the sun.  The eclipse day was their day in history.

 

The perfect itinerary

For one week in S. Australia

 

Days 1-3: Stay at Adelaide Hills Country Cottages.  Tour nearby wine country to sample some of the best wines of Australia.  Have at least one of your dinners at The Uraidla Hotel (see below) on Greenhill Road, Uraidla. 

 

Days 4-7: Drive/fly to Wilpena Pound Resort in Flinders Ranges.   Experience outback, bush hiking, Aboriginal history, and wildlife (kangaroos!). 

 

 

The "Chloe" nude is one of Australia's prized possessions.  It is in the upstairs lounge of Melbourne's Young & Jackson [*].  If you happen to be passing through Melbourne call ahead for schedule of lectures on history and significance of the Chloe portrait (" the only nude woman ever seen by many lads sent off to fight in WWII.")

 

   

 

 

Remlap Manufacturing in Palmer, S. Australia (not far from Adelaide Hills) makes "the warm oilskin"  jackets with lambs wool linings.  Sold off their rack or made custom fit in one day. Above: Marlene with her new coat and Ramplap owner Bob Borchardt.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

A complete Snitzel (sic) dinner for $8.99 AUS (6 bucks US).

Sign at Lyndurst.  Next fuel stop, Innamincka, 500 km.   Lyndhurst hosted eclipse chasers in 2002.  Otherwise it is pretty quite here. 

 

 

 

   

© 2005 R. Abileah

Last updated February 27, 2008